


Children of R'lyeh, Act V: Phantasm

by Vosh



Category: Cthulhu Mythos - Fandom, Cthulhu Mythos - H. P. Lovecraft, Furry (Fandom)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:53:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25225630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vosh/pseuds/Vosh
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue: Unworthy

[Sisters of Shadow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTtagMRtAAM)

[19:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFaKVvG4Tl8)

_**Prologue: Unworthy** _

_“The day after Alixandr's mysterious disappearance was the beginning of the inevitable end of Ngirrth'luin society within R'lyeh. The sunken city was built not for us, but those that we worshiped, and we'd become a growing problem. We became pests. Rodents. Our population began to grow exponentially after the reformation of the original Council. Laws were set in place to reduce trials of life or death unless deemed necessary, which was rare. Arguments and disagreements were no longer allowed to be settled by besting one's life in a game of violence, engagement, and assassination. There were plans none of us were being told of. We were being kept ignorant for their benefit, and Alixandr was their ace in the hole. But I knew better._

_I had no siblings. My parents gave birth to me out of necessity to avoid being called heretics for not wanting to 'progress' Ngirrth'luin society past. Wanting to be happy by yourself or with someone you found yourself happy around was considered unlawful, selfish, and a reason for a parading of your mentally tortured husk around and down into the deeps of R'lyeh. My people-...our people were no longer ourselves. Thinking individually landed you in a life of indentured labor._

_If it did not directly benefit the 'progression', you died._

_If it did not directly grow the population, you died._

_If it did not directly contribute to our forced praise of our gods, you died._

_The Brood Tower was erected not long before my own birth. Parents could not be trusted with their own children. There was a fear that grew in the hearts of the Elders, that children that were not raised the same, on the same knowledge, on the same food, on the same assumed mental capacity, that the infrastructure would crumble, and their ancient and continued work would come falling till there was nothing left but those who sought to take the Ngirrth'luin back to their primitive, animalistic origins. They were afraid of their utopia failing. And it was why they did what they had to Alixandr. Why they had 'chosen' me after his final seclusion in that room._

_They told me they had 'more important' and 'more prominent' things I was meant for. That the Elders sought to speak to the Tower's Headmistress about my supposed soaring excellence, my natural talent. But I was lied to as he was. I was manipulated and groomed by those who wanted to weed out and prune the buds of any possible trouble. My combat prowess and mental capabilities far outweighed other Alphas and the Common. It rivaled even Alixandr's when I witnessed him reach the ends of his own limits, and it was seen as a threat._

_My visit before the Elders was nothing more than a lashing of words, and announcement to all of my people of my potential treason, and their reason for casting me to 'prove my worth' in the depths of R'lyeh, beyond the sunken portions. Some rejoiced; they too saw me a threat. But many protested as I was escorted to the entrance of The Deep. I knew then there were others who saw what was happening, and I knew upon my return who I would liberate from the ever tightening grasp of whoever sought to wring the last of our free will dry. But my trials needed to be completed to prevent it from being obvious. This was the beginning of my mind game, and my 'overseer' would come to realize this.”_


	2. Chained

[Glow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BaiWn2nhow)

_**Chapter 1: Chained** _

R'lyeh was never known to any who witnessed it even in its early stages as the perfect utopia that paid homage to the many nightmares that drifted to and from, into and out of, passed or stayed to make it their home. The half sunken city had more secrets than even those that dwelled in the submerged portions that even the strongest of Ngirrth'luin dared not venture down into. These zones became known collectively as 'The Deep', the forbidden city that seemed to build itself below R'lyeh itself. And as a result, it also became the grounds for trials of the weak, of the powerful, of the treacherous.

Among many of the other tales that were told to the children of R'lyeh, the story of 'The Deep' spawned and gave life to the most horrid of nightmares. Nightmares that inspired these children to become stronger, to improve, to survive. Children born as Alphas were told stories of 'The Deep' from conception, subliminally having the tales imprinted into their newborn minds until it became a sort of reality that they sought to rid of. It drove them to the ends of fear, the edges of insanity...but this tradition saw a halt after the conception of a particular girl.

Her parents had no intention of raising a child, of contributing to the growing population of a people that were too afraid to even question the decisions made by an aging and disappearing council. Their child would have to suffice on its own. They had no shame abandoning the newborn girl in broad daylight to the Headmistress of the Brood Tower. However, the Headmistress had no idea the ignorance of the couple. Their failure to even uphold the most basic tradition of raising a child born an Alpha would not only be their undoing, but the beginnings of a child that knew not what fear or nightmares were. They only gave her a name out of necessity when she was handed over wrapped in a damp blanket, _“We named her Vythica. We aren't responsible enough nor willing enough to raise a child we had no intention of having in the first place.”_

Those cold, straight forward words stung deep into the heart and mind of the Headmistress, who promptly slammed the entry doors of the Brood Tower before their faces, but not before sizing them up. The child she held in her arms merely squirmed as she removed the cold, wet cover and wrapped the girl inside of her own robe, “...pitiful; a blessing from Ngirrth'lu himself and yet they seem to care more about breeding for the fun of it,” she stated as she began to walk with the girl up the spiraling steps that led to the first floor where the young were kept.

She stood before the door that was still open on the first floor above the foundation. Whispers and gentle whimpers could be heard from the large room until a final hush was heard. From the open door slowly slipped out the petite image of a young Ngirrth'luin girl whom the Headmistress addressed as she closed the door gently, “Settling nightmares again tonight, are we Qi'ara?”

The small Ngirrth'luin girl, draped in a longer robe than even the Headmistress, stumbled with her actions for a second as she turned to face her, “Oh-! Oh my...I'm sorry, you startled me. Um...yes, they were having trouble. I couldn't let the ones that were having trouble sleeping calmly disrupt the young ones that have already surprisingly gotten past their early nightmares, Headmistress.”

The elder woman nodded with approval as she gently revealed the newborn girl that she held hidden beneath her own robes, “An intelligent choice as always, but I have a much more important task for you here,” she stated, running her filed down clawed hand through the gentle fur of the newborn child's head, “Her name is Vythica. She was openly and unashamedly abandoned by her soon to be deceased parents.”

Qi'ara looked at the woman with a look of concern, her teal ringed eyes almost forming tears for a moment, “Excuse me for questioning what you just said Headmistress, but 'soon to be deceased'? I'm not entirely sure I follow. I understand that what they've abandoned is a gift from the Great Old ones themselves, but...”

The elder gently pressed a digit to the mouth of the girl, hushing her as she gently handed over the newborn child to the assistant, “Their fate is not your concern. You are not responsible for what happens outside of this tower. I took you in when you thought you had no purpose here in R'lyeh, but look at you now,” she explained as she stepped back away from Qi'ana, “You're serving in ways others could not understand, and never will. Our work here in the Brood Tower is sacred and essential, Qi'ara. The children here are our future, and you are helping me ensure they get there safely.”

Qi'ara nodded as she wrapped the newborn girl in her own robe as she nodded in acceptance of what the Headmistress explained, “We've never taken in a newly born child like this before. Perhaps maybe a few months old, some as young as only a few weeks,” she explained as she wiped some fluid off of the newborn's ears, “But this one...I've never tended to something so...young, so small. She's smaller than some of the youngest I've ever seen, Headmistress-!”

“Are you afraid, Qi'ara?”

“N-no, of course not. I only have concern that-”

“Don't panic; you've been here long enough to understand that-”

“My concern is that this child is Ashborn, Headmistress!” the younger Ngirrth'luin girl exclaimed as she held a bit more tightly onto the newborn. The Headmistress stayed silent for a few moments before releasing a heavy sigh.

“...then the mother is a treacherous child of Ngirrth'lu,” she stated lowly as she began to make her way back down the spiraling steps to leave the Brood Tower, “Promise me this, Qi'ara: you will raise that child as any other once she is old enough to move around like the others here on the first floor. Until then...Vythica is _your_ newborn. Raise her with care.”

The words rung in Qi'ara's ears for a few minutes as she stood there confused while the Headmistress exited the Brood Tower, “... _my_ newborn?” she asked herself as the tiny child she held pawed at her own face, “And why have you not cried?”

* * *

“Nngh-...! Is that all?” aggressively questioned the voice of a young girl that was bruised and bleeding slightly from her jowls, “Alphas are so full of themselves, yet they can't build the fortitude to take down one of their own, as if we're some kind of family. I don't even know you outside of your name, let alone as a supposed 'brother'. Plus, you hit like a girl.” The girl picked herself back up and assumed a strange stance, almost as if standing there ready to pass out.

“You talk a lot for a runt. A specially cared for runt at that. Why don't you call for Qi'ara to save you? Or are you too embarrassed to call for 'mommy'?” a slightly elder male Alpha teased as he clenched his fists and began to sprint at the girl, “You're nothing special, Vythica!” But it was at this moment that the boy was given a sudden reality check about strength.

It did not come from physical prowess. It didn't come from being faster. It hardly even came from being smarter. There was a lesson somewhere in his current state of floating head-over-heels, but his blind rage and senseless anger made him ignorant to the fact. Only when he found himself out of breath on his back crying did he finally get it, “...why aren't you...afraid of me?” His words were quivered, a subtle sob heard as he asked Vythica after she seemed to read his every move, every step before tripping and slamming his larger form into the stone floor.

“That's a good question. I'll be sure to come back and answer it after you stop crying...like a scared, little girl,” she said coldly, oddly cold for a girl that was probably no older than nine years old, or what was assumed to be. She wiped her mouth clean of any residual blood that still lingered, “And she's not my mother. She just cares.” The young Vythica made her way out of the floor's dormitory room where she'd just finished teaching one of her fellow Broodmates a lesson.

As she made her way down the wet-stoned hallway she could hear footsteps ahead of her, and approaching at a rapid pace. She listened closely, attempting to identify how heavy those steps were as a way to try and predict who it was, and by the weight of those rapid steps she concluded that she was right from the moment she first heard them, “...Vythica! Vythica, don't you run! I heard it all, believe me or don't!” the voice of Qi'ara echoed throughout the hallway, “I know you're trying to sneak away, so don't try i- Oh! Oh...oh my goodness. You're bleeding! Why are you bleeding, Vythica?”

The young girl shook her head as she walked up to the wall and leaned back against it, only letting herself slide down onto her rump with her tail wrapped around herself in defiance. Qi'ara frowned with a humph, attempting to swat the little girl's tail away with no success, “Stop worrying about me, Qi'ara. I'm growing and exploring my boundaries and limits like you told me I needed to-”

“I don't care what I said, Vythica! Move your tail so I can make sure you're okay, please!” Qi'ara exclaimed as she attempted to swat the girl's tail away again once more, but this time was successful...or so she was tricked into believing, anyways, “You're a mess, child. Who was it who did this to you?”

“No one but myself. I picked the fi-”

“No you did not. I know you too well, Vythica. You don't pick fights, you just...end them. Quickly, which is strange. You're so small, and I still don't understand how you do it.”

Vythica shrugged, giving way to a long sigh from her small maw, “You always told me not to be afraid of anything. I think I'm starting to figure out that maybe I'm not afraid at all, of anything...”

* * *

It was among one of the last spars Alixandr was given the privilege of watching and recording, though surely because of this he'd taken even greater care in making sure he described every detail. It wasn't long before he found himself captivated by one of the combatants, though. By the end of the engagement he'd begun to review his work, finding that over the course of the fight his focus had started to center on one particular individual's motions and appearance, and her name was Vythica. She was simply an Alpha, but for some reason he felt she was different from any others of her pedigree, and not just for her beauty.

Once the spar had ended, Vythica refused to end the match until her opponent could land a single hit, leaving her to continue toying with the boy for what seemed an eternity. The Headmistress would not allow this and instead grabbed the male opponent by his scruff and dragged him away. It was a pointless fight, for the talent that Vythica had was similar in concept to Alixandr's own, though she could more fluently translate it all in real time, and possibly even multiple steps ahead. She simply sighed as it was officially over, grabbing her robe and donning it once more like all children of the Brood Tower were taught to. Her thirst for a worthy opponent was not sated, for she could not have possibly been among the top tier, “You'd think a girl as small as myself would have a harder time against larger males like that, ones who should be able to overpower and hold, wouldn't you agree?” she asked seemingly no one, her face staring away from Alixandr who was seated behind her, “Yes, I'm talking to you, Scholar. You analyzed this match, and I have a feeling your written analysis would be able to prove me right. After all, I've never faced a male opponent who didn't think the fight was in their favor due to those reasons.”

Alixandr was a bit confused and at the same time quite embarrassed. He could show her his work, but perhaps that was not the best approach to finally speaking to this girl he'd suddenly become infatuated with, “...you say that as if I'd been biased from the start. And do not refer to me with that so-called 'bloodline title'. You Alphas seem to like drawing on that to put me down as if I'm not equal. I used to spar like you, you kn-”

“Know your place, Scholar. You're speaking to an Alpha,” Vythica interrupted, though she slowly turned to face Alixandr, eyes closed at first but slowly opening to reveal those glowing green-ringed irises, “...apologies, I didn't mean to come off so rudely. I suppose the adrenaline can get to my head some times, though I'm not entirely sure if that's even a logical explanation for a slowly inflating ego.” Her voice had come off a lot softer than Alixandr expected, a wave of embarrassment flowing through him as he looked away, hood covering his face as he held his parchment closer to him, “Don't tell me you've suddenly grown shy now that I'm looking at you directly. I've seen your face already, and I've seen you fight. You're no fighter, but you and I do share similarities. What is your name, Scholar?”

“My name...” he began with a low and somewhat depressed tone, “...my name is Ahj'liex, though I've come to a rather distasteful opinion of that name's homage. You may call me Alixandr.”

“Alixandr, hm? A fitting name for someone of higher intellect,” she began as she took some steps toward him, finally seating herself gently next to him in a rather uncomfortably close proximity to himself, “You may call me Vythica, Vythica Phantasm. I named myself after learning that I was bastardized from birth by both of my parents. Perhaps we both have more in common than you think, Alix. It...is alright that I call you that, correct?”

He simply nodded, trying not to edge this moment on any longer, “Alix is fine, though...I'm sure you have somewhere else to be. I've my own agenda I have to tend to. Perhaps we can speak another time in the future, however long that may be. I've been told a different course of action is to be taken for me here soon. Possibly a permanent change. I only hope it is worthwhile in helping me achieve what I need to more efficiently.”

“You seem abnormally optimistic for change. That's not a good sign for the mental state of an individual, Alix. Perhaps you could join me as some sort of assistant? I'm sure I could convince the Headmistress. I have some pull around here,” she tried explaining to no avail, “After all, we have much in common, especially what lies within each of our skulls.”

With that he felt a slight tapping of a clawed finger press against his cranium, almost immediately flinching and jumping up from his seated position, dropping anything he'd used to work on the floor as he hurried away, “I have to go. I'm being summoned,” he stated sternly, not even looking back to figure his materials left behind might have been needed, including the profound and elegant description for a girl he knew he could not be allowed to become infatuated with. For someone like him was not deserving of such romance, not for someone of muck-ridden and accursed blood, or so he thought.

Oddly enough, this set off alarms even in the mind of Vythica, though she did not act upon them. Perhaps it was best for her to stop asserting for the time being. Sometimes patience was a greater virtue than dominance...only, perhaps she should have continued on. It would be nearly two Turns before she'd finally caught sight of the boy once more, though something was terribly off. It was a strange presence. He was not the same he once was for something seemed to lurk over his shoulders at all times. Maybe this was her mind's way of depicting a wave of guilt or fear that hovered over his shoulders. Whatever it was, it was enough for her to remain distant for the time being, at least until she decided to follow the boy back to his personal quarters.

It was strange following him, for this wing of the Brood Tower was technically unmapped. It was darker than the rest, and much more murky, swamplike even. Was this a result of whatever loomed over him? Perhaps, it seemed likely, but at the same time this was such a strange occurrence that her mind could not possibly come to a logical conclusion. Early stages of madness via exposure? A plausibility.

Before long she caught sight of a door opening before him, the high pitched and horrid squeaking of the wooden panels scraping against the stone flooring echoing through the hallway as a strange set of individuals emerged from the room.

“How are you holding up, child? I assume you've been memorizing and attempting to translate. That shadow that grows over your shoulder tells me so.”

“Yes, indeed. What have you learned, Ahj'liex?”

“Anything of significance? Anything important to the survival of our kind?”

“Most importantly, anything that could help your people ascend further.”

Alixandr remained quiet for a few moments before stepping back into his room, politely shoving the others out and slowly closing the door while muttering, “There are worlds outside of ours which we cannot comprehend, gods that exist beyond our wildest imaginations and planes which cannot be explored by those restricted to a single mental state. He speaks of one much different from ours, and he has plans for that place. Now leave me be, I need to reflect on this some more you leeches...” His tone was monotonous, as if most of his drive was now all but completely gone, and for some reason she thought she caught a glimpse of a strange yellow hew glowing from the eyes of Alixandr.

“You there, young Alpha. What are you doing in this portion of the Tower? You have other, more important and prominent things to tend to,” the voice of one of the strange figures called out to Vythica, “...ah, Vythica is it? We've been following you for some time, you know. Here, follow us back to the Headmistress. There are things the Elder Council would like to discuss with her about your soaring excellence.”

* * *

“How much do you actually know, girl?” boomed the voice of one of the eldest of the Council that sat before her. They were sickly looking from what she could see of their claws gripping over the arms of their seat.

“Headmistress, why is this one looking at us? Correct her posture. Now.” commanded a more feminine voice from the seat next to the eldest.

The Headmistress of the Brood Tower nodded fearfully as she kept her own head bowed while walking up to Vythica who still stood at the center of the chamber, “Child-...Vythica, please. Kneel and bow your head,” she begged quietly as she attempted to shift Vythica's posture with no success.

Though Vythica did not speak, her body language spoke for her. She folded her arms, even directing her gaze to meet the assumed eyesight of each and every Elder that sat around her.

“This one...this isn't defiance. No, no...defiance would yield some sort of fear from the individual. Whether it be fear of death, punishment, regret. No...this one is different. She's a step beyond even us now, in this moment, yes...” rambled on the eldest of the Council as he adjusted his seating position, “I think I see why, now.” The eldest slowly stood, bones groaning as he did before he finally stood straight up on his own, even slowly removing the hood of his robe from his face and down, revealing a still aging and ancient face. He held his arms, hands cupped, behind his back as he began to pace around and examine Vythica in a more up close and personal manner, “You...are the bastard child that I've heard rumors about from the children that actively participated in their free days away from the Brood Tower. Almost like...a nightmare. But you don't know the meaning of that word,” he hummed, “Nor do you know the meaning of fear. Which is...a shame. I didn't think I'd ever have to do this again after so long.”

He continued to pace around the girl a few more times before going back to his seat and slowly lowering himself with a grunt, “You have talent that precedes you, and I don't only mean combat talent. Yes, yes...I know exactly whose child you are, but I will not say who. I'd imagine you don't care to know either, do you miss 'Phantasm'?” His words were like chains that slowly bound her down with every syllable, but she stood stout, still connecting with his eyesight directly, “That's what I thought...”

The eldest snapped his clawed fingers, the sound of what could be mistaken as snapping bones echoing throughout the Headmistress's chamber. Something ancient and ominous was within the walls of her Tower, but she could not locate where or what it was until something as ancient yet younger than the Council emerged from the darkness that surrounded Vythica's interrogation spot. It became obvious who it was that the eldest had summoned here once they stepped into the dim light, “Eldest, if I may be so rude as to intervene, but none of this is necessary. I can assure you I can bring this all under control, please. She's still only a child!”

“No, let him,” stated sternly a now vocal Vythica as she unfolded her arms, “I want to hear what's going to happen to me. He was right from the start, as well as the others thinking the same. It's all in their body language.”

“Hush yourself, child! Before you end up in something you won't recover from, let alone return from!” exclaimed the Headmistress as she approached Vythica and pulled her into her hold, still having her face the Council, “I understand her combat prowess and pride are something to be tested, but I don't think you're seeing the bigger picture here, Council. I-...the Brood Tower cannot afford to lose this girl to the ritual y-”

“This is no ritual, and her physical ability is not what we desire to test,” interrupted the voice of a younger member of the Council as they too emerged from the shadows of the room, if not the youngest, “You've mistaken our intentions out of...fear. Fear that we'd be taking away a child of yours that you and Qi'ara have raised since her infancy.” His words almost seemed to hiss as they echoed off of the wall, something eerily familiar yet unknown, “This girl, this...foster child of Qi'ara...she has associated with Ahj'liex, my own son, in such close proximity yet she lacks a trait that we see in all Ngirrth'luin, from conception to death,” he came closer into the light, his face revealed and covered in a plethora of scarification tattoos that read in R'lyehian tongue, “You exemplify what we have been monitoring her for in this moment. I highly doubt you're ignorant of the fact that she lacks what you know she does, so why continue to try and justify it?”

The Headmistress remained quiet for a moment as she tightened her hold on Vythica. The one picking apart her feigned ignorance was of course the youngest and surprisingly wisest of the Council. She knew of him, even despised him. Because of him she had lost many children to his antics, to his conspiracies, his lies. She refused to risk another, especially Vythica, “Your words are as poisonous as always, Ahj'lien. I will admit, I am aware of what you are pointing out about Vythica and I am sorry for not taking responsibility for instilling it into her the first moments she came into my Tower...but she is the Brood Tower's child. Not a child of it, but the child of it. And as the Headmistress of this Tower, I refuse to allow you take her for whatever your twisted mind has set its decision on that pertains to her future. Eldest of the Council, I request that you call off this meeting, and that...beast-”

“No,” Vythica stated sternly and lowly as she gently pushed herself away from the Headmistress, “They're right; I don't know what it means to be afraid, to be fearful. And to be honest, I don't think I ever will unless they put me through whatever it is they have planned for me, Headmistress.” There was a slight sense of mockery in her words, made much more obvious by the quick flick of her heavy tail, a signal she'd learned from Vythica's previous encounters with other children that challenged her.

The ancient 'beast' that had stood half way into the light finally revealed itself fully as the girl spoke, removing her tattered robe's hood and revealing a toothy smile, “You have confidence. Very admirable, pup,” spoke the monolith as it crouched to meet the girl at eye level. They slowly removed their robe to reveal their non-traditional attire and show that there was a similarity between the two of them.

“I remember reading about you. You're like me, you had no name of your own. You established it through triumph, strength, and wisdom. Yet I would never have expected the Reaper to be an ancient female,” Vythica commented as she folded her arms across her chest, “What would be the scenario that something- no...someone like yourself would take interest in a girl like myself?”

The woman huffed with a slight snarl as she stood back up to tower above Vythica once more, “Your lack of fear is not normal, almost impossible-”

“Enough, Reaper,” commanded the voice of the Eldest as he signaled her to step away from Vythica, keeping his gaze locked on the young girl, “Reaper is to be your escort for your trials in The Deep. She is right in stating what she has so far, but personal conversations will be kept to a minimum during this time. By the turning of the day and when the stars pollute the city once more with their light in the morning, you will see yourself to the doorway of the Brood Tower's entrance. Your time in The Deep will not only be seen as a trial, but as a test of what kind of threat a child without fear poses to R'lyeh.”

He and the other Council members slowly stood from their seats and left without hesitation, only Reaper staying behind for a few moments to take some last mental notes of the girl she was to escort and assess, “It'd be best for you to rest as much as possible, pup. You have a long journey ahead of you starting tomorrow,” Reaper stated before turning to exit the Headmistress' chamber as well.

The Headmistress' breathing intensified to a quiver. Not long after Qi'ara rushed into the chamber and forcefully embraced both of them into a tight hold, “Headmistress, I-...I heard it. All of it! Why are they-...do they not understand that she is just a- no, no, she's my- our child! Why can't they see that?” Qi'ara lost herself to a sudden flowing of emotional dread as she knelt down to meet Vythica at eye level, holding the girl's face gently as she swept her still growing head of hair away from her face, “Vythica, why didn't you...why didn't you argue against their plans?”

“...because I want to be afraid for once in my life. I want to know that emotion, how it feels to be Ngirrth'luin. You and the Headmistress...you robbed me of that. Am I upset? No; regretful? Far from it. I just want to feel normal, for once. And if it means risking my sanity to The Deep, then that's the chance I'm willing to take. And as much as I want you two to stop me from doing this, please don't. You've done enough for me.”

“You took me in when you did not need to, from the hands of those that did not want me. You showed me what it meant to care about someone, to appreciate those that do what they can for me so that I may continue to live and grow. But now it's my turn to see if I can do the same for myself. So please, don't shed tears for me...mothers.”

* * *

The morning approached quickly, and Vythica was up before anyone. There was a slight doubt in her mind about her making it through these trials because of her age, so she took time to explore and revisit all allowed areas of the Brood Tower. She remembered each floor of her development as if it was only yesterday, fleeting memories of growing up with the other children passing through her mind as she ran her fingertips along the stone walls, “...if I return, this will be the last memory I have of you,” she said with a slight amount of sorrow. Be it her last life experience or not, she was quickly approaching the age where she would be among the common in the streets of R'lyeh. Her time as a child was coming to an end.

As she slowly descended the spiraling steps to the main entrance of the Brood Tower, she was met abruptly by the monolithic Reaper who made their entry via quickly forcing open the main door, letting the natural gray and green light pollute the entrance. Her gaze was focused behind her for a moment before she turned and locked it with the girl's with a slight smirk, “You're awake. Good, very good,” she stated as she motioned Vythica to approach, “Before me, pup.”

“...I'm not a pup.”

“To something like myself, you will always be a pup. Now stand before me,” Reaper retorted as she held a pair of crude chain cuffs. Vythica hesitated for but a moment before listening to her orders. That deep, bright red accent that tinged the visible flesh of Reaper glowed softly as she stepped closer and held her arms forward to be detained, “You submit much too easily, girl. I promise you that this will only be temporary. This is simply for the masses.”

Vythica snarled as she felt the cuffs clamp around her wrists, the heavy chains causing her arms to fall before her and rest against her thighs, “They can watch me if they'd like, belittle me even. They'll never understand that I made this choice on my own. The ones that detest me will be sorely disappointed when this is over.”

“That they will,” Reaper commented as she led Vythica out of the doors and onto the front steps of the Brood Tower. As Vythica let her eyes adjust to the natural light, she could see that the streets were lined with all Ngirrth'luin. No one was allowed to miss this ceremony, not even the children as they stared in both awe and fear of their eldest sister that was escorted onto the flat bed of a carriage that was to be pulled by Reaper herself.

None of the Elder Council members were present, except for the youngest himself. He too stepped onto the carriage bed, letting down his robe's hood once more to face the endless crowd of his people, “Ngirrth'luin! Set your gazes upon what treachery and insubordination looks like when it is personified in your own peoples' flesh!” A large majority of the those that watched cheered on to Ahj'lien's words as he presented Vythica as a wretch among her own people, not knowing any of their faces, but them knowing hers.

She was not allowed to speak, it was made clear as she looked down at Reaper who gave a silent 'shush' using a single digit over her lips. Ahj'lien's speech continued as the masses fell back to silence, “There are traditions among our people that must never be broken. They keep our society moving and evolving. Without them, we would fall into disarray and return to our roots as unfavored children of Ngirrth'lu himself, forced to fend on our own in the outskirts. This child...she does not know of these traditions. She was given life by accident, and as a result she does not know what it means to be afraid. She has no fear...and that will only invoke the end of our city and our people if we continue to let her live as though she does not need to be afraid!”

The carriage began to move at a steady pace as Reaper began to pull it through the stone roads. Many of the spectators found themselves in awe of her. They'd never seen a female with the physical prowess she had, nor facial structure. To many of the youngest faces in the crowds she was what they imagined a nightmarish form of their people looked like, to others she was a mutant, and very few knew she was a precursor to their kind. The last and youngest of the Elders chose not to join them, but rather work under them for her own benefit, not theirs. The gazes she received did not boost her ego, nor did they make her nervous. She knew what she was, who she was. Her history was exactly as Vythica had summed it up, and that's what had mattered.

Vythica's gaze hardly shifted, only looking into the crowd every now and then to see if any of the younger Ngirrth'luin were ones she recognized. Many of them were. Many of them still detested her even after their departure, but yet there was a new fear growing in their eyes, if not two. Vythica's parading was to be seen as an example of who or what to fear within society, but had any of them been put in her robes at this moment, they could not stand the thought of being taken to the gateway to The Deep. The things they'd been told about it since before they were even allowed to take their first breaths haunted them even now.

It had been nearly an hour since their initial departure and they now approached a darker corner of R'lyeh. The crowd began to disperse as they all realized the final destination was not simply hearsay, “The doorway to your new beginning...or your end. What you do after entering will forever decide your destiny, your future, and...your sanity,” preached Ahj'lien as he turned back to face Vythica. Her expression remained as cold and fearless as it did when she was being interrogated by the Council itself, “Tell me, girl...do you feel any amount of fear or regret now being before the gates of our Hell?”

Vythica set her sight on the Elder for a moment before tilting her head to look past him at the gates of The Deep. Of all places that the rare resources that were metals were funneled into, it was the twin-doored gate of The Deep. But even metal seemed to fail to hold in whatever might eventually emerge from it, “Looks like you have more to fear of The Deep than I do, Elder,” she retorted as she pointed out the outward dents of what looked like impact marks littered and distorted the doors, “If I am truly going in there, and it is as much of a Hell as you described it to be to my people...tell me, will you carry a guilty conscious knowing that you've thrown your first child's future mate to her own death?”

Ahj'lien held his composure for but a moment before he found himself raising a hand and attempting to slap the girl as he swung viciously, only to be stopped by the only other remaining being nearby, “You're out of line, Ahj'lien!” roared Reaper as she grabbed hold of Ahj'lien's arm and pulled him down forcefully from the carriage's platform, “Your part in this is done now. Don't let your Council position give you an ego larger than you can back up.”

Ahj'lien groaned and coughed as he slowly stood up from the cold ground, turning his head to look at the gates to The Deep. There was something he could see that the other two could not. Wrapped around those gates were the ethereal tendrils of something above all of them. They leaked an ominous and malicious ether through the cracks and imperfections. This...was new, “...I had planned to simply use this all as a means to set an example, then more naturally insert the idea of fear into your heart, girl. But The Deep...it has been waiting,” he explained calmly, “There are things even I will never be able to withstand, because I am not welcomed to see them as They do. What the Council once threatened as their trial for you is no longer applicable here. The Deep has its own trials that it wishes you to face.”

“You've gone mad, haven't you?” asked Reaper as she folded her arms, “You're talking as if The Deep is a living, breathing-”

“It is, do not question its sentience!” exclaimed Ahj'lien as he continued to watch the spectral limbs squirm along the doors, “Its patience grows thin. My presence is being demanded to be sent elsewhere.” His narrowed pupils widened as he witnessed those phantasmal tendrils pry open the gates of The Deep on their own, letting their presence leak outwards towards Reaper and Vythica. To them it simply looked like a thick fog, but it spoke to him, “...I must go. I have no control over your fate now, Vythica. Reaper, your duty still stands as a hand of the Council. Do not falter, and do not let her lose herself.”

The youngest of the Elders quickly walked away back towards the main portion of R'lyeh, disappearing into the darkened streets. Something was off if a man of his ego was forced to run with his tail between his legs. The monolith and child both turned to face the now wide open gateway to The Deep. Neither of them showed any sign of fear, “...so I was used as a poor example, and now...”

“Your trials begin. Your real trials. The Council did not predict this, but...”

“You did?”

“No, let me finish, pup. The Deep is a subcity within the walls of our own. It is ancient. It is primitive. It speaks in its own tongue that cannot be translated even into R'lyehian. I would know...we were all born from it,” explained Reaper as she knelt down to unchain Vythica after climbing on top of the carriage, “You will survive this. I've been tasked with that. Do not disappoint me.”


	3. Lost

[Amorphous](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynohBf7VzFI)

_**Chapter 2: Lost** _

“Get it off! Reaper, please! Help me!” exclaimed a distraught Vythica as she seemingly tried to pry and fight off a mangled being that threatened to subdue and consume her. Its face dripped a blackened fluid from its multiple maws as its multitude of eyes focused around and on her. The girl gripped at its tentacled mass, trying to get a grip on the monstrosity as the blades that lined her fingertips cut through its mass with ease, “Reaper!”

“You're struggling and failing yourself, as well as me!” Reaper exclaimed as she stood back a few yards, examining the girl's situation and wondering if she would survive this first trial, the simplest of them all. Already she could see that look of primeval instinct slipping its way out of a child that was only beginning to think she was discovering true fear. It bothered Reaper, seeing her struggle in this way. She almost pitied her as she continued to struggle on the ground, “Any longer and we'll be rejected, Vythica. Stop pretending!”

* * *

The massive doors that guarded the entrance to The Deep slowly closed behind the both of them as they slowly entered into the haze, not knowing what to expect. It was warmer here, the mist so thick that you could trace your own movements as they left trails of vacuum behind them that would slowly be swallowed back up by the haze. Vythica looked around, trying to get vision of anything aside from the moisture that polluted the air around her, “It's eerily sticky and warm here, Reaper.”

The monolithic predecessor nodded as she too tried to gain sight of anything The Deep hid, “This is normal once someone has been chosen. The Deep is ever changing, ever shifting. It's the most convoluted sublet of R'lyeh. Time and space here are inconsistent. They shift like the dark tides that surround R'lyeh,” she explained as she motioned the girl to follow her, “You will see things here that you will not believe. You will hear things that should not be heard. You will think you are lost. You may even see your future, or perhaps relive your past. This place, our origin location...it gave birth to us, and it has every right to take that right to life back.”

Vythica raised a brow, removing her robe's hood down from her cranium, “You talk about it as if it is sentient. Unless it's related to something e-”

“Your assumptions are leading you to a truth that you need not delve further into, pup. Sometimes it is best to just accept the illogical as logical, and continue to live as if ignorant for your own sake.”

Vythica sighed, folding her arms as she continued to follow Reaper along this seemingly endless path. They were descending on an incline, that much was certain, but how far down they had traveled was not able to be determined. What was more than likely just a few minutes of walking now began to feel like hours. Her legs began to burn ever so slightly, “This incline is beginning to wear me, Reaper. Are we close to beginning my so-called trials?”

Reaper huffed as she continued to trudge before Vythica down the path, “Time is shifting. Your mind is being tested as you sit there complaining of simple matters. Do you really know you are growing tired? Or are you being manipulated into thinking that you are? Steady your mind.”

“That's...ridiculous? Why would I be tricked into thinking that I'm tired? This incline-”

“Does not exist anymore,” Reaper stated as she pointed at the ground that was now a flat plane, “Focus yourself on retaining your sanity, child. That incline was steep, that much is true, and we have descended down what can be assumed to be equal to multiple stories, but it ended long ago.” The monolith stopped, folding her arms as she looked up. It seemed as though she was looking at nothing but a dense fog until something that Vythica had not seen in her people began to take place with Reaper. The ancestral being began to emit a dim glow that slowly intensified until an almost radiant heat began to exhume from the woman.

Vythica looked up to where Reaper had her sights focused and began to notice the thinning of the haze that surrounded them. After a few moments, and much to her confusion, an open entrance to a decrepit temple of sorts. Surrounded its perimeter was the decorative lining that could only have been carved so crudely by primitives much older than even the Council. This building, however, was crumbling, but yet the more she stared the more she realized it wasn't. It was consistently shifting, as if aging and reversing its aging in an inconsistent pattern. There were no steps up into the temple, but it did seem to silently invite the both of them in, “...what is this place, Reaper? It reminds me of something...”

“That is because whatever it is that you're reminded of is based on this place's design, but without the negative connotation. Many of the things we once built here have been translated and slandered by the modernization of our people, to try and appeal to Him. The difference in our shape, size, and structure are not a coincidence. Who you are, how you appear compared to myself? An explicit direction made possible by domestication of ourselves.”

Vythica took a step back, “This is an ancient sacrificial chamber, isn't it?”

Reaper shook her head as she ran a sharpened, clawed hand along the shifting threshold, “Far from that. This is the doorway to your trials, the beginning of proving yourself not only to our home, but to those that would seek to condemn you for actions that you did not commit. This...” she continued as she took a step into the entry way, motioning the child to follow her, “This is the first forge of our people. Where true warriors are given their purpose, and their lifetime weapon. Now come, the pit demands your presence.”

As she commanded Vythica to follow her, the numerous hidden torches within the folds of the entrance's walls slowly lit up to light the way for the two of them to follow. Vythica hesitated for a moment before taking steps into the Forge's entrance, her arms crossed and her eyes constantly shifting to try and spot any discrepancies. Reaper continued to simply follow the long hallway, expecting the child to follow suit, “This place was traditionally known as the end goal for any child your age seeking to meet a purpose greater than just trying to live on when we still roamed The Deep. I would know,” she explained as she came to a stop after turning left to look over a semi-crumbling balcony's railing, down at the endless darkness that was now beginning to be illuminated by scattered flames, “For you, however, it is your new beginning.”

“New beginning?” questioned Vythica as she took a look over the balcony's ledge as well, realizing just how large and deep this place ran within the land she only thought was so finite, “You say that as if some kind of quest is to take place for me. I didn't know I'd be tasked with acting out what children only pretend to do with what limited space they have within the Brood Tower.”

“Believe me when I say that this will not be anything like you've pretended to act out with your fellow generation. This will be your opportunity to wipe your past's slate clean and proclaim yourself as the start of your future,” she stated as she motioned the girl to continue to follow her in the opposite direction of the balcony, “Ahj'lien and many of the remaining Elders instill fear of The Deep into the generations after them to dissuade them from ever becoming curious of it. They have all gone through its trials. It is not only tradition, but required. But The Deep is not unforgiving. It can empathize with those that will only ever be sheep within a society, but it will continue to breed, or at least attempt to breed, individuals that can make a difference and aid its people in changing direction, good or bad. There must remain a balance.”

Reaper grabbed hold of a particular metal torch that hung in the way of their path, carrying it above and before her as she continued to follow the dark hallways, “For The Deep to have chosen you for its trials without you ever setting foot in it yourself could be considered a blessing by many like myself, who could truly understand it. But for others like Ahj'lien, and many of the Elder Council, it is a curse. A curse not for you, but for them.”

Vythica sighed, kicking small pieces of crumbling debris away from her as they walked, “So then you're saying they're justified in their treatment of me in this manner. My name tarnished because they're afraid of a child?”

“Not just any child, one that has been selected by their old home. You and many of your generation, and so many generations before you, are the result of selective domestication, to become something not so...primitive,” Reaper explained as they slowly came to a halt, “But despite our violent upbringing, we were never animals. There are tales of other worlds like ours where a people are born to change it forever, but only if the ones that will enable progress are given the opportunity to do so. Worlds where the people are able to individualize themselves and bring ideas to those that would like to see them put in motion. Those individuals permanently change the world, for better or worse. The Elder Council fears this. They fear the constant balancing act of good versus bad. But that is nature, and The Deep knows this.”

The more the monolithic woman explained these things, the more it made sense, and the more she wondered if Alixandr knew anything of this, “...so what does that have to do with me? I will admit, I had some kind of idea of what you now clarified what was happening, but are the Elders really trying to fight against the natural course of this world's direction?”

Reaper stared the girl directly in the eyes for a few moments before taking the torch she held before her and forcefully tossing it ahead for it to fall into a pit nearly as dark and endless as The Deep itself, the light it gave off slowly fading as it seemed to be swallowed by the abyss, “Artificial lifestyles go against the rules of nature. The Deep...it is not only a place, but it is also what I explained it to be before. Other worlds know it as 'life itself', 'the algorithm', or for many to relate to on a more mythical level it is also known as 'mother nature',” as she explained this, a sudden roar from deep below echoed upwards, shaking the very foundation of The Forge as the feeling of whatever might have erupted below made its way towards them in a rushed fashion.

Vythica attempted to maintain her balance as the shaking continued, looking up at Reaper with a concerned expression, but the Elder woman did not flinch, and continued to lock her gaze with the child's, for behind her had erupted a pillar of flame from the pit, “The Forge now breathes once more for the last time it ever will for many generations more. The fires within its belly have chosen to free themselves to help smith a weapon worthy of not only you, but of your legacy,” the words that bellowed from Reaper's mouth reverberated with an ominous whisper, as if it were not her speaking the Vythica in this moment, “Tell it your name, and it will bestow upon you the means to your future, your legacy.”

Vythica stood in silence as she took a single step back. This felt more like a dream or nightmare than it did reality. Perhaps she was back asleep at the Brood Tower still. The stone upon which her feet stood began to warm up and assure her that this was indeed the present. Her hesitation seemed to enrage the fires as they intensified, as if growing impatient of her. She soon mustered the bravery to finally speak to something that could read her better than she could read herself, “Vythica Phantasm is my name-”

“The 'Phantasm' lineage does not exist,” immediately retorted the voice that spoke using Reaper's body, “You are the first, and you seek to pierce the heart. The heart that beats with a rhythm that goes against the world's course.”

“I-...I don't seek to pierce anything. I want answers, I want the truth. I have been...abandoned. Whatever or whoever you are, I just want to know..why?” Vythica asked as she closed her eyes, waiting for an answer to spew from the mouth of Reaper.

“...a child that thinks themselves lost. An infant that cannot be seen. An example made of the danger she is to the people that seek to alter their fate. A 'true child of Ngirrth'lu' you are not.”

“...I don't underst-”

“Vythica Phantasm, 'the Vorpal Blade'.”

The flames erupted even more aggressively as the voice boomed her name and that title, covering the stone roof above her in a carpet of fire as Reaper fell to a knee, a fist slamming the stone floor angrily as she began to pant with exhaustion, “...what did it say, Vythica?” she asked as she attempted to catch her breath, “What did it say?!”

Vythica stood frozen for a few moments, trying to come to terms with what had just transpired as the flames continued to roar and coat the roof above her. The conversation was so short, yet so powerful. Whatever had spoken to her knew more about her past and future than she could have imagined, “...it spoke to me through you. It said I was to 'pierce the heart', the 'heart that beat against nature's rhythm',” she explained as she looked at her own hands, “It have me my new name, a new birth name and title. I'm not only Vythica Phantasm now. It said to me that I am more than a name. I am 'the Vorpal Blade'.”

Reaper slowly stood onto both of her feet with a slight stumble, grumbling as she folded her arms, the flames that once erupted behind her now calm and steady, “Vythica 'the Vorpal' Phantasm...The Deep expects more from you than I would've thought. But I cannot speak for it in my own words,” she stated as she shook her head, “Your title is your new life, your new beginning, gifted to you by The Deep. What you do with that title and how you carry it, and how far after you it carries is up to you.”

“How far after me it carries?”

Reaper nodded, “Your future legacy, of course.”

Vythica's expression turned to that of someone offended, feigning disgust, “Do you really think I would ever have pups of my own? I named myself with the intention of being the last. I'd sooner take my life or let it be taken by a maddened commoner than give my body to a male.”

The monolith shrugged as she signaled the girl to follow her down a spiraling staircase that surrounded the perimeter of the room, now open after that strange event. The structure was now more lively and illuminated since the reigniting of its furnace, almost giving life to the entire thing. The stones they stepped upon were warm to the touch, but not intolerably hot. The once strong brine scent began to fade as the moisture that stunk up the structure began to burn off, leaving the ancient masonry to become more brittle, “This may possibly be the last time this Forge will see itself produce a weapon for someone. The others will take over its responsibility, but they are much deeper down than this. I only hope that this is also the last time The Deep wakes,” Reaper explained as they approached the base of the staircase, “And strangely enough, it seems to be particularly interested in you compared to generations past.”

Vythica shrugged as they entered a room similar to the one they traveled down from, the only difference being that there was a solid structure in the center, something similar to a large kiln. There was a strangely shaped door built into it, that glowed with the steadily dying embers that burned slowly within it. The hinges almost looked as if they'd been melted from past uses, but that was simply the odd metal that held the entire thing together. This entire structure and its secrets were foreign to her, despite having been part of her home long before she was even a thought.

The dying flames inside began to grumble as she took a few steps closer, curious as to what exactly may be inside of the kiln. There wasn't anyone or anything in the immediate area that could possibly have utilized the many tools and benches surrounding it. But yet the embers began to call to her, as if murmuring to her to come closer. From behind her she felt a slight shove from Reaper who silently urged her to reach out and see what lied within the belly of that kiln.

Just as the young one began to reach out and wrap her hand around the lever that latched the oven shut, the fires roared back to life. In her head she heard screams of unfathomable frequencies, the sounds of creatures past filling her mind as she found herself stunned in place. It continued, beginning to feel as if the noise flooded the Forge and out into The Deep. The screams began to morph into incomprehensible shrieks of terror that brought pain to the girl's ears, or so she thought as she felt herself begin to lose focus and consciousness, her hand still wrapped around the lever of the kiln's door, “Vythica!” she heard the voice of Reaper yelling out to her, but voices began to fill her head that spoke in forbidden tongues, “Focus, child!” She could hear Reaper once more, but only for a moment before she felt herself go.

But that serene darkness was short lived as she felt herself forcefully put back up onto her feet, though her arms and legs felt somewhat heavier than before. It took a few moments, but Vythica eventually came to as she slowly opened her eyes, her eyelids fluttering as she strained herself coming back to reality, “My head is throbbing...” she moaned as she attempted to place her palm to her face to rub her eyes and cheeks, but was stopped short of doing so by Reaper's sleight of hand as her wrist was grabbed with force.

“Watch yourself, pup,” she stated as she slowly placed Vythica's hand back down to her side, holding the girl upright with her own hands, “Understand that you are no longer a harmless girl. The Deep has given you its final gift from this Forge.”

Vythica rolled her shoulders, attempting to swing her arms to stretch, but felt an ever so slightly noticeable change to the weight of the ends of her limbs, causing her to pause and look at them, “...what?” she gasped lightly, surprised to see what had been adorned on each individual digit upon not only her hands, but her feet. She caused herself to stumble a bit, thinking that she might hurt herself if she stepped incorrectly, but that was not the case, “Explain this, Reaper.”

Reaper smirked as she watched the girl struggle for no apparent reason, “The last relic has finally been forged, or so one would think anyways,” she explained as she felt the kiln roar to life once more, “A better way to put it would be that what now adorns your hands and feet are the final relic created for the final trials The Deep has planned for this lifetime.”

“This makes no sense, Reaper. I didn't even put these...claws? Talons? On my person.”

“Incorrect, you did indeed do that. Your passing out was a test. Those unworthy of what you now own would have been driven to the ends of madness if they had attempted to equip such a thing on their person. You prevailed...barely, but well enough that you can be considered worthy of it,” Reaper explained further as she turned her gaze to the furnace for a moment before returning it towards Vythica, “They are called the Claws of Ngirrth'lu, a forbidden weapon designed for someone that combats in the most forbidden way. From what I'd heard from your growth in the Brood Tower, I would say you and they are a perfect match.”

Vythica raised a brow as she lifted her hands to examine the talons more closely. They were crafted crudely, yet with such precision that no matter the movement of her digits they never touched one another, or her own flesh. The same could be seen with the ones that adorned her feet, only the tips of the painstakingly sharp blades just barely making enough contact with the floor to give off a slight tap, “...this is still confusing, but I think I can get the basis of what you're saying. These are designed for one that fights on a reactionary level, aren't they?” she questioned as she slowly moved her hands in shadow boxing motions.

Reaper nodded, “Ngirrth'luin warriors of the past fought using brute strength until they refined their movements to that of a more chivalrous and precise form, but they still battled and hunted on instinct and taking advantage of obvious overbearing strength versus their targets or opponents,” she said as she too mimicked some of Vythica's shadow boxing motions, “Very few ever learned to make themselves into the weapon before learning to use their arms as extensions of themselves. Yet here you are, the youngest The Deep has ever seen in its Forge, given a weapon designed to fit its owner in specific to such a point that it should be considered a blessing...but those above will never see it that way.”

“Because of how my mind and body work?” Vythica asked, balling a fist to test if the weapons would puncture her own flesh, which they did not as their curvature simply rolled into her palms. Reaper simply nodded once more to Vythica's question, but did not explain anything further until the kiln's flames slowly died off once more, the door that once held Vythica's weapon hidden slowly opening on its own.

“...and so the Forge produces its final piece,” Reaper stated as she direct Vythica to take what laid within the kiln out. The girl hesitated once more to approach it, afraid that the same results would occur as she got closer, but something felt...off. What once felt like an all watching presence that hid in the dark corners of the Forge was now absent, but yet she felt herself continue to approach the kiln until she was face to face with what laid upon the still dying embers, “Remember that it, as in The Deep, has chosen you.”

Vythica stared at the relic that was so crudely forged, but still somewhat hidden in those embers before attempting to slowly reach for and grab it, beginning to hear the sounds of something amorphous and gelatinous forming above her. She could hear the sounds of fluids dripping behind her, as if some thick slime oozed. Reaper remained silent, watching from a distance as she folded her arms and closed her eyes, awaiting the next moments and how the girl would handle herself. Vythica took a single step back from the kiln and felt herself step into what she believed was a puddle of mucous. She grimaced as she looked down to find that she hadn't, but yet those noises continued.

It only took a moment for Vythica to feel herself pushed to the floor by some unknown force away from the kiln, leaving her to look straight up at the dark roof of the Forge to see something she'd never seen, and something she wish she hadn't as its mass rapidly fell onto her and began to wrap itself around her. At first she remained calm, attempting to swing her newly acquired blades at the being, but realizing that each cut that was made only seemingly multiplied its mass of growing features. She began to panic ever so slightly as she called out.

“Get it off! Reaper, please! Help me!” exclaimed a distraught Vythica as she seemingly tried to pry and fight off a mangled being that threatened to subdue and consume her. Its face dripped a blackened fluid from its multiple maws as its multitude of eyes focused around and on her. The girl gripped at its tentacled mass, trying to get a grip on the monstrosity as the blades that lined her fingertips cut through its mass with ease, “Reaper!”

“You're struggling and failing yourself, as well as me!” Reaper exclaimed as she stood back a few yards, examining the girl's situation and wondering if she would survive this first trial, the simplest of them all. Already she could see that look of primeval instinct slipping its way out of a child that was only beginning to think she was discovering true fear. It bothered Reaper, seeing her struggle in this way. She almost pitied her as she continued to struggle on the ground, “Any longer and we'll be rejected, Vythica. Stop pretending!”

Those last words of Reaper suddenly woke something up inside of her, reminding her of her sin to her people, _“...fear is taught, but I was never taught to fear...”_ she said to herself inside of her head as she shifted her gaze to lock directly with the mangled creature's multitude of eyes. Strange as it may have been, the being began to back off its subjugation of the girl, its mass slowly shrinking and becoming less and less of an amorphous being until it was no larger than the size of a newborn pup as it quietly laid upon Vythica's chest.

The strange child sized entity turned its now sightless, shadow gaze towards Vythica's as she slowly sat herself up, only to begin mimicking many of Vythica's own features from when she herself was a newborn, but yet...it looked different, “What am I seeing?” she whispered to herself before the silhouette began to cry, disintegrating to nothing until only its wallowing could be heard throughout the room until it finally ceased. Vythica sat on the floor for a few moments in confusion, wondering what she had just seen.

“...it makes sense now,” Reaper commented as she approached Vythica to force her back up onto her feet, “Even I am beginning to learn new things about The Deep and its actions, its thought process. Your role is so much more important than you and I may think, child.” Reaper then took a step back as she motioned Vythica to retrieve what still laid hidden in the now fully formed pile of ashes within the kiln.

She slowly dug her talon-lined hands into the remains of the fire, slowly wrapping her grip around something so dull yet warm that it almost felt as if she was pulling a child from the ashes, but yet it was not such a thing. Instead she began to unveil a greatknife, forged so uneven yet purposely that it could not have been a mistake. Its strangely cut shape was not sharp, very much unusual, and upon its metallic hilt was carved such an intricate figure of what she initially thought was Ngirrth'lu's head. Reaper's eyes widened as she realized what the child now held in her hands, almost tempted to take it away by force, but knowing well that this was what was intended.

Vythica continued to stare at the crude weapon as she ran her sharp talons along its shape, the tone given off deeper than one would think. It echoed gently in the room as she finally held the blade as if it was bestowed upon her by something or someone, “I can hear you, yet I cannot. You are born of him, and we are born of you. You had no form, yet you formed everything here, and he lied to you, to us,” Vythica began to talk as if she was conversing with the object, “...you have no name, yet you named your vessel Animus...” Vythica gripped as the handle of the blade, slowly placing it under her robe into a secret pocket, “But you are the source of us. You'll be known as Nexus to any who question it...”


	4. Messages in the Dark

[Interbeing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDNS3eIXZqc)

_**Chapter 3: Messages in the Dark** _

The expansive darkness of The Deep did not cease, but its ever shifting form did. Since their departure from the first Forge everything seemed to become much more...linear. Time did not become diluted, an individual's body could not be exhausted quicker than normal, and one's mind was no longer being tricked or convinced of things that did not necessarily mean the truth. However, Vythica's trials continued as they once more found themselves at a standstill, staring down at what seemed like an endless drop off of the sudden cliff they found themselves standing on.

“Do your instincts tell you to jump or wait, pup?” questioned Reaper as she turned back away from the cliff edge, half expecting a reaction. Reaper would not say a word, but with Vythica having that blade held so close to her person she hoped she'd be able to find the answer much more easily.

Vythica did not reply, but instead looked over the ledge to try and see what might be a hidden ledge directly below them. Trying to see through the endless abyss was impossible, however. She did some investigating of her own, feeling the ground upon which she walked and comparing it to the foundation below it that made up the cliff. On her stomach, she would reach down and feel the cliffside, but it was much too thick and hard to even consider using her newly acquired weapons as tools for traversing a rock face.

With a heavy sigh she'd stand herself back up onto her feet, hands pushed onto her hips as she began to overthink on possibilities in order to continue from here, “...seems as though perhaps we were never meant to come this direction. My guess would be that we'd need to traverse back in the direction from where we came and entered through-” she'd begin to explain, only to be cutoff by what felt like a quake from behind them. To both of their beliefs, the entirety of the first Forge had suddenly fallen down, crashing into the endless abyss of The Deep, its flames dying out as it tumbled. There was no final impact heard, “...it really is endless, isn't it?”

“Why don't you ask it yourself?” questioned Reaper, knowing that Vythica was aware of the situation she was now being placed into. The Deep had no need for anything they had already traveled past now that the Forge had given its last blessing. Vythica had turned to Reaper as if to retort, but instead quickly looked away, knowing well that the monolith was not ignorant of Nexus. Reaper folded her arms, “Don't forget why we've been sent down here. Unless that reason has changed since receiving that crude blade.”

Her words cut deep, farther than Vythica would expect for someone so ancient, but yet she knew she could not hide the truth for long, “...how long have you been aware?” she asked, holding the knife she hid under her robe closer to her than normal.

“From the moment you passed that first trial. The image created was tailored to you, and you only, but it was not difficult to decipher it,” she commented as she approached Vythica, standing before and towering over her once more as she did the first time they met, “The Deep, its very soul...it is housed and bound to that blade, and it has been speaking to you. What has it been telling you?”

“Nothing!” Vythica exclaimed as she took a step back from the ancient being, “And if it had been saying anything to me at all, I would have-”

“You're lying to me, pup,” the woman snarled, her clawed hands now curled into heavy fists, “I may be here as a guide, but I am also here as your escort through here to make sure you do not fall to insanity. That is not why we are here, now tell me everything unless you seek to drive yourself to your own-”

“She wants me to face Ngirrth'lu!” Vythica exclaimed as she fell back onto her rump, her eyes narrow, ears lowered, and a slight tremble able to be noticed from her lower jaw, “I...I'm unsure of what she means by that. She's repeated it over and over to me, in my head. Her voice fills my mind, but right now she has gone quiet. Ever since we approached this cliff, she has gone silent.”

Vythica tucked her arms and legs closer as she tried remaining sane and focused, holding the hidden blade close. Reaper approached her slowly, kneeling down and offering a hand, “Your mind is not designed for this kind of work. It is fragile when put in direct contact with the Great Ones. Nexus, as you have named her, is a child of one. She is The Deep, and you are essentially carrying the womb of our people on your person. You're afraid, and that's completely normal for a girl your age,” she explained as she felt Vythica place her hand into hers, only to feel herself suddenly tugged down to meet the girl eye to eye.

There was a strange tinge that seemed to trace the outermost edge of Vythica's irises, a golden orange that flashed every so often, “...you're wrong. I am not afraid, I am nervous. I said Nexus wanted me to face Ngirrth'lu, that much I did. However...I never mentioned how or when, that is why I am nervous. That fate could be now, some time today, or some time much farther down the road. And because of that...I'm nervous.” Her tone was soft, quiet even, a quiver able to be heard in her voice as she slowly loosened her pull, allowing Reaper to help her back onto her feet.

Reaper did not know what to say at that moment. The girl she'd guided down into The Deep originally seemed to be gone entirely, lost to its influence. But yet as she listened to Vythica explain her reasoning, she also doubted that to be the case. For her to lose all sense over these circumstances was unlikely, especially for someone with a mind as resilient as hers, rivaling even the most ancient or forbidden bloodlines and not being linked to either. No...this was something almost new to the ancient being. This was a girl that was tearing herself apart from the inside out because of a fear that she cannot predict where all of this was heading.

“Do you understand me, Reaper?” Vythica asked as she continued to stare up and try to keep her gaze locked with Reaper's, “I'm just nervous, is all. I think I should be okay, however. I just need to level myself and try to think of-” she would cut herself short as she caught something out of the corner of her eye, in the direction of where the sudden cliff edge was, “...so that was the path this whole time.”

Directly across from the end of the original path, another cliff edge revealed itself from the darkness, a torch above suddenly lighting their way once more. However, time seemed to freeze once again as Vythica turned her gaze to lock onto what looked like the infant that cried while resting on her torso earlier. This time it did not remain an infant. Instead the shadowy figure stood itself up and began to grow at an alarming rate until it represented itself as what looked to be an adolescent child. It began to mimic the robes that the Ngirrth'luin wore, even growing a hazy maw filled with razor-like teeth that formed into a permanent smile.

Vythica found herself able to move freely, but Reaper, along with any still burning torches, seemed frozen in time. The trench between the two halves of the cliff was no more than three feet wide. The shadow figure that stood on the other half across from Vythica's continued to stare with its sightless gaze at her, following her as she paced, seeing if it was conscious of her presence, “I'm going to hate you, one day,” it suddenly spoke with what felt like multiple voices, both high and low in pitch, “I'm going to hate you one day, but I will only hate you temporarily.”

Vythica stopped in her tracks as she felt the figure's voice echo, backing away slightly, “You haven't even stated who or what you are, so why should I believe what you have to spout from that suspicious grin of yours.”

“Because I am yours. Your first, your last. You love me, but you have not met me. And one day, I will hate you, if only temporarily,” the figure did a slight dance and wiggle, as if trying to imitate a jubilant child, a female one at that, “Why make yourself nervous by avoiding the truth?”

Vythica seemed almost offended, as if she was being treated as the slow thinking, ignorant participant, “Truth? What truth? The only truth here is that I'm being tasked with facing Ngirrth'lu...but I am not designed for that. None of us are-”

“I am. And I will,” it stated as it once again danced a bit, even fixing its oddly short cut, shadowy hair, “But you'll deny it. You'll try to avoid it, and I will hate you for it, even if only for awhile. Because in the end, I will still love you, but you'll try to avoid it still. Hide yourself. Be a coward.”

“I am not a coward!” exclaimed Vythica as she took a few pounding steps towards the figure as if trying to teach a child a lesson of respect, “You continue to mock me, yet I'm not even able to determine if you're nothing more than a figment of my imagination being projected outwardly because of this place! For all I know, I could have already reached the beginning stages of insanity, and you...”

“And me? You'll meet me one day, but not today. You'll know you've met me when you do. The Deep breeds life, not death,” it stated as it began to fade away slowly, the gap between the two cliffs slowly shrinking until the path was once again complete, “I can't wait to finally meet you for the first time.”

Vythica snarled, but at what was now nothing. The shadow figure had disappeared, and time had resumed. Reaper looked down at the bothered child and ruffled her hair a bit, “What has you so jumpy now, pup?”

Vythica smacked the ancient being's hand away, “Don't call me that anymore! It's humiliating...as if being mocked by an imaginary child wasn't enough...”

“Imaginary child?” Reaper questioned, shaking her head with a smirk, “You're tired, but it looks like the path is available now. Let's continue...” she stated as she motioned Vythica to follow her, “So...about that boy...”


	5. True Fear

[Dead Idols](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4KKtfOBv8k)

_**Chapter 4: True Fear** _

What began to feel as if it were an eternity of travel deeper and deeper down into the depths of The Deep would finally see a final point of arrival as both Vythica and Reaper came to a halt at yet another sudden cliff, but things were different this time. Below them was a plateau, formed by unnatural means, lit by ancient, still burning torches, and populated by abandoned homes, filled with nothing but echoes of the past. The journey down had finally led them to their beginnings, and quite possibly their ends. The drop was no more than twenty feet or so, and they both dropped down to the ghost town's level, Reaper's size and weight obviously creating a much louder thud than Vythica's smaller frame.

The strange thing about The Deep, even in a place like this, was that it did not kick up much dust, as if it was regularly washed away to hide any possible secrets. Vythica held that crude knife she hid inside of her robes closer than ever as the two of them slowly made their way through the town, “...is this-?” Vythica began to question before being cut off by Reaper.

“The first remnants of our coming ups to being civil and organized? No, far from it,” Reaper explained as she too found herself somewhat cautious of her surroundings, “...in fact, I don't remember a civilization like this existing at this point from my time growing up and escaping from here. It's much too similar to R'lyeh-” her words were cut short by the sudden sound of scratching that echoed through the many alleys and makeshift pathways that etched their way between the homes and buildings.

Vythica soon found herself suddenly stopped by Reaper's stiffened arm, almost tempted to lash out, but the sounds that echoed also caught her attention. She took the time investigating its origins to take in the sight of this town- no...city. Now that they had traveled some ways into it, it became clear that Reaper was correct, yet wrong, “...this isn't R'lyeh, Reaper. This is somewhere else entirely,” she began to comment quietly as she took in the architecture, taking notice of the sharpened edges and gravity defying geometry, “...if The Deep is the body, but its soul and mind are held within this blade...what could be causing this?”

Reaper took a step back, kneeling down to meet the girl eye to eye, holding her shoulders as if trying to reassure the girl's safety. The golden orange that traced the outermost edges of her irises was now gone, _“You've hidden yourself...”_ she thought to herself as she stood back up. This was no longer something that the spirit Vythica had named Nexus was in control of. Something, or someone, else was now leading them somewhere that maybe- “Vythica!” Reaper exclaimed gently as she gave the girl a slight shake, “Vythica, you need to speak to that blade and its inhabitant now!” she said as she noticed the sudden stopping of scratching that began to intensify the longer they stayed.

Vythica was a bit startled by the shaking, even more so by Reaper's sudden change in attitude. The monolith had shifted from stoic and confident to suddenly worried and panicked. Her shift in personality would become warranted as she suddenly placed herself into a combat ready stance. For the first time Vythica was able to witness the true definition of what ancestral combat really meant. The ancient woman's claws were longer and sharper than even the most well trained and bred Alphas that wanted nothing but to prove their superiority, and her physical prowess was almost overwhelming, but with the sudden echoing sounds of infinite shrieking that began to flood this strange city's streets, she knew that even Reaper would not be able to keep her safe on her own.

“Vythica, you need to ready yourself. Something has changed, shifted, and either you, me, or the both of us have become the targets for something much more than we bargained for,” she explained as she motioned the girl to follow her, “Pay attention, and do not let yourself become lost here.” Reaper's eyes constantly shifted in all directions, trying to take notice of anyone or anything that might try to suddenly strike. There was nothing clear to her, however. Whatever it was that had taken notice did not want them to know it was there.

However...Vythica would not find herself in such a position as she felt herself beginning to be dragged along by the woman. Her eyes did not shift in all directions trying to find anything, but would shift as she found herself able to track something moving quickly atop, between, and into the abandoned buildings as they quickly maneuvered through the ever growing city. As she turned herself to where Reaper was leading them, they'd run into a dead end, with only a stairway that led up being the only other option for them to escape with, “Reaper!” Vythica exclaimed as she redirected her guide up the stairs, suddenly finding herself lifted up from her feet as the ancient woman carried her up the steps.

Reaper's breaths were heavy, showing that even a well trained and physically gifted person could only carry the mass she was blessed with so far, and for so long, “Been awhile since-...I've ran like this, with baggage to add,” she explained as she found herself tiring a bit over what seemed like some sort of walkway that towered above the city below them. Vythica let herself down from Reaper's arms and began to look around below them.

“...this place has an odd charm to it, Reaper. Almost as if it already exists someplace else. The details in the designs, the deliberate grid placed roads...” Vythica explained as she began to take notice of the large, spire-like structure that it all seemed to revolve around, “And it all originates from there.” Vythica pointed one of her bladed finger tips towards the spire. While it did not reflect any known designs from R'lyeh itself, it did have a sort of similarity, “R'lyeh also centers around the Brood Tower, does it not?” she asked as she followed the structure up until it was suddenly met by a ceiling that expanded across what should have been the sky, “...a false sky, to keep all of them safe? No...”

Vythica turned around to check in on Reaper, who's breathing had suddenly come to a halt, turning to nothing but silence, not even the sound of her tapping her claws coming from her, because she was now...gone, “Reaper? Reaper, where are you?” Vythica asked as she began to frantically look around her, trying to find any clues as to where the woman had gone, “Reaper?!”

“She's not here,” whispered a voice from behind the girl. Her fur stood up sharply, her pupils narrowed even more than ever, and an ominous chill ran up her spine. The spots upon her shoulders began to grow, shrink, and shift rapidly, as if time had become convoluted once more. But had it stopped? Had it returned her? Or was it beginning to speed up? All of this prompted Vythica to stay faced away, but youthful curiosity and uncontrollable emotion took hold of her once more as she quickly turned to face what was following them this entire time, “She's not here. She never was.”

Vythica took a step back, confused as to why the childish shadow that had appeared and spoken to her many times before was suddenly here to toy with her once more, “Why? Why do you continue to follow me?!” Vythica exclaimed as she found herself placed into a much more aggressive combat stance than she would normally.

The childish figure began to morph and grow once more before her very eyes, shifting until it mimicked a female of her kind, grown past the age of adolescence. What was once a sightless gaze had grown into something much more ominous. Eyes formed, and they were much like her own. But the figure's stature was shorter than her own, mimicking a strange set of apparel far from the traditional robes she still donned. The shadow seemed to wear a baggy pair of capris, and even mimicked a strange, short cut shirt that exposed its shadowy naval.

The short-cut hair remained, though more voluminous than before when it represented a child, but its razor-toothed smile remained as it spoke, “Do you love me yet, mother?” it mocked as it began to twirl around what looked like a crudely forged blade. Vythica watched the figure toy around with it before checking her own person to find that the knife that held Nexus was now gone from her person, “You will at some point, and I will hate you for it, at least for awhile.”

Vythica snarled as she slowly began to walk towards the shadow, running the blades that lined her fingertips along the walkway's railings, “Return that blade, now,” she warned as she dug the Claws of Ngirrth'lu deeper into the railings, “You have no right to hold that sacred relic!” Vythica suddenly found herself charging towards the figure, something she would never have done before. But this was different, something had snapped. No longer could she find herself calm, collective, and defensive. This was something entirely new to her: anger, frustration...rage. Never before would she have ever made the first move in any combat scenario, but the constant taunting and elusive lines from this figure that mimicked one of her people had driven her to the beginnings of what she was told to avoid from the very beginning of her journey down here.

The shadow figure watched and waited for the initial attack, biding its time until it saw a moment of opportunity. Vythica's charge was followed up by a sudden slide along the walkway in an attempt to take out its legs. This would fail as the shadow jumped, splitting its legs across the walkways railings, laughing as it did so, letting itself flip upside down as if to taunt the girl before quickly landing itself back onto its feet with extreme acrobatic talent. Vythica found herself more frustrated than she already was as she stood back up, “Why run from a child like me?” Vythica called out, standing no more than two yards from the shadow, “Afraid of death?”

The shadowy figure laughed some more, shaking its head as it continued to twirl around the stolen blade, “If I were afraid, I would have attacked. You, of all people, should know that...mother.”

Its continued taunting drove Vythica up the wall as she clenched her fists tightly as she slowly began to walk towards the figure. Fighting was not the answer here...or so she thought. The figure hadn't seen this occurring, and as the girl came within range to strike, it suddenly found itself on the offensive to keep her away from it. In a sudden panic, it attempted to stab at Vythica, only to have its arm knocked aside, and its shadowy cranium impacted with the likes of her own, causing it to stumble and fall back onto its rear end, “Never expect anything, even if you can expect every single possibility. I think I'm beginning to see what- no...who you are, or who you will be,” Vythica explained as she sped up her walking.

The shadowy figure remained dazed as it sat on the walkway...or at least made it seem that way. As Vythica suddenly dropped herself over it to try and apprehend it, it suddenly struck out with another sudden stab, though not where it had expected to land the attack. Vythica screamed and shrieked as she felt a sharp, unbelievable pain course through the left side of her face, near her eye. The crude, unsharpened blade had been forced into her eyesocket, but was not able to penetrate her skull. But it was odd...there was no blood that spilled over the shadow or over her own person. In a desperate act, Vythica attempted to finish what she intended, and forced herself to embrace the shadow in a tight hug, still fighting the unimaginable pain that began to course through her entire body.

The blade suddenly fell to the ground, and whoever the girl had been holding tightly had suddenly disappeared. The searing pain remained as she found herself on all fours, barely able to see with her right eye past all of the tears that had formed, “Qi'ara...!” the girl sobbed as she pounded her fist into what was now nothing more than endless darkness before her, “Why...? Why me...?!” Her sobbing echoed around her for what felt infinitely. She attempted to open her left eye, but only felt the pain intensify more, but still no blood spilled. She could not understand what was happening anymore, at least until the very thing she was told she would face slowly began to reveal itself before her.

The endless abyss that The Deep occupied was not what it once was. In fact, it was no longer part of The Deep, but something trying to control it entirely. The blade that now housed Nexus was a means of it trying to escape after being found, but the stubborn nature of the ancient woman and the girl trying to stick to obsolete traditions led them to this, or so one would think it was simply their actions that led to this.

As Vythica continued to sob, she slowly picked herself up, hands and arms held over the left half of her face and cranium. As her right eye's vision began to clear, she wished it hadn't. The shadow figure's eyes and smile appeared before her, its body unable to be seen among the endless darkness that consumed her surroundings. Had she finally become blind? No...her eyes were just now being opened to the truth that began to form before her. The shadow figure's features began to float away slowly from her, “Why?!” she screamed at it, demanding answers from something that was beyond her. Her footing was loose, and as the endless abyss beneath her feet quaked, it became apparent what was beginning to take place here. This was the very thing that she was afraid of happening. This could not be her time yet!

But foolish assumptions only make the foolish more susceptible to the truth, especially when it reveals itself before them in all of its infamy. There are things that the residents of R'lyeh know are worse than death, curses and omens that would make death seem like the preferable option. Before her still recovering vision, the face of the one that her people praise foolishly began to form. His decrepit features, the tendrils that squirmed from most every crevice, and multitude of deformed eyes squirmed before her. He remained silent, all save for his disgusting breathing that reeked of expired flesh and a sea so deathly that nothing could possibly survive within it.

Vythica stumbled back until she found herself on her rear end, quietly begging for some sort of salvation as his appearance became clearer by the second. Her breathing intensified, her heart raced, her eyes dilated. Never before had she found herself so intensely terrified, so fearful of something she knew she was not supposed to interact with, think about, or talk about for that matter. Was this what it truly meant to be afraid? To be fearful and cautious about approaching even the most mundane of day to day activities? Was this what she was never taught? And now, in this moment, in what could inevitably just be her grave, she was face to face with the very one that she was told to never meet. And she even interacted with him. The guise of the infant, the child, the girl she faced in that short fight, her only loss...was to the Great Old One himself, “Ngirrth'lu...?”

* * *

“She isn't waking up! Reaper, what happened?!”

“Don't presume I had anything to do with this! Not directly, anyways...”

“It seems as though the child is as resilient as I'd predicted-”

“You did not predict anything, Ahj'lien! She's a child, not some experimental lab rat!”

“Vythica? Vythica, wake up dear. It's alright, I'm here now.”

“Where is that blade?”

“It never left her person. She's held tightly onto it since she was given it.”

“Then what do you suppose her chances are of surviving?”

“You're trying to calculate the survival rate of a child that did nothing wrong! I won't stand for this anymore, Ahj'lien! Leave my Tower!”

“With all due respect, Head Mistress, I do not have to. Nor do I intend to. She's seen him, as has Ahj'liex. They are linked, and that gives me-”

“Everyone, please, shush...I think she's beginning to-”

Their incessant arguing was cut short by the sudden awakening of the girl as her eyes shot open, pupils dilated beyond comprehension, and a shriek so piercing that the eldest of them all could only hear it ever so slightly. Her left eye was now blinded, damaged by whatever she'd encountered, and the veins that fed it now swollen to that point that they scarred her. All of those that were there attempted to calm the girl down, but it would take days before she finally came to reality and realized that she not only survived the first half of a curse that would plague her bloodline, but she had cheated death itself, and Ngirrth'lu would continue to hunt because of her, “I'm afraid, Qi'ara...please, help me...”


	6. Epilogue: Pilgrimage

[Pacifica](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-tgzEYVXPU)

_**Epilogue: Pilgrimage** _

_I spent nearly 5 years continuing to live in fear, in paranoia. I could not feed myself, bathe myself, even bring myself to move from place to place within the Brood Tower...but that's what Alixandr had tasked himself to do. His disappearance that day was the same day I was sentenced to The Deep, and the day I awoke was the day he had suddenly returned, but he was...different. But at that time I did not think to question it. A good friend in a time of need was all I cared about. For someone I felt I had pushed away, he didn't hesitate to return, even forgoing his own recovery. Qi'ara teased us about our friendship, saying we did more together than most mated couples, Reaper doing the same, even claiming that we were destined for each other. I guess that's what she teased before I apparently fell into that coma._

_But as it stood, Alixandr and I did eventually become wed locked. This was only after I found myself in a healthy enough state, of course...and my surprising pregnancy. Most who knew me would have laughed if I'd told them I had children, especially twins for my first, for nowhere in the known history of present Ngirrth'luin society was it recorded that Ashborn, children born from female Alphas, were ever raised, or accepted. As a result, I had them raised by Qi'ara, much like she had raised myself, at least until I felt as though I were able to raise them myself without fear of society attacking us, and especially them._

_But that would be cut short as Alixandr had discovered his father's plans to re-enact the events of both him and myself. I had to do something. I had the influence. I talked to the common, other Alphas, anyone...even Reaper. They all agreed, R'lyeh was no longer a safe place for our people and their future. Alixandr agreed to take us where he had been before, a place called 'Earth'. But events continued to tumble upon me as I soon found out from Qi'ara that my firstborn, Vosh, had fallen into a mysterious coma, but not her twin brother Ventus. I knew what was beginning to occur, and I would not have my child, or anyone else for that matter, fall to what Alixandr and I nearly fell to._

_Alixandr's ritual was our last gambit, but he regretfully required something that not just any Ngirrth'luin was willing to give for the betterment of all those seeking to escape to a world where we could restart everything from the ground up. He explained how he'd disappeared when he was young, to this place called 'Earth', how his original person was destroyed in the process, acting as the gateway. His single, young body was enough for himself and quite a few others, but in order to move over half of the population of R'lyeh to this new world...more were needed. The first that gave themselves to our future was the Head Mistress, the second, surprisingly, was one of the Elder Council members that had caught word without giving their plans away, and the last...Qi'ara._

_I begged her not to, Ventus being as young as he was even begged her as well. Her care for so many was cherished, some of the others even trying to forcefully volunteer in her place, but she was stubborn. Her care for us all extended even beyond the Brood Tower, and even now we all feel her watching over us as we continue our lives on in their names. I only wish they could see our accomplishments, our struggles, our escape from beginning to end. One day, maybe they will._


End file.
